There are a number of different ways regular people can contribute to national parks management. You don’t need to be a National Park Service (NPS) employee or have a nonprofit to help the parks.
From volunteering at a local park to donating to organizations and becoming a citizen scientist, all contributions, work hours and dollars donated matter and make a difference.
So, if you’re looking for opportunities to help preserve America’s national parks, natural resources, cultural and historical sites, and wildlife, here are three amazing ways you can do that.
3 Ways to Contribute to National Parks Management & Preservation
“We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.”
– President Theodore Roosevelt
1. Volunteer at Your Local National Park
The National Park Service’s Volunteers-in-Parks Program offers a wide array of volunteer opportunities in all kinds of parks across the entire United States.
Positions range from behind-the-scenes jobs to frontline work, including both one-time projects and long-term commitments, as varied as trail maintenance and visitor center duties.
Available positions also include specialized work, which require particular skills, abilities and knowledge, while others only require a passion for and willingness to volunteer in the national parks.
There are national park volunteer positions for minors, too, but they’ll need consent from a parent or legal guardian.
Examples of possible volunteer work in national parks are the Amtrak Trails & Rails Program, Boy Scout and Girl Scout Ranger Programs, and the Community Volunteer Ambassador Program.
So, if you’d like to dedicate some of your time and make a difference for national parks, you’ll find plenty of opportunities through the country.
You can learn more about volunteering in the parks on the NPS Volunteer page.
2. Donate to National Park Organizations
Many national parks are supported by their own foundations, associated nonprofit organizations or so-called Friends Groups, while there are also a couple of overarching organizations dedicated to protecting the parks.
National Park Foundation
The official charitable partner of the National Park Service is the National Park Foundation.
This reputable foundation “enriches America’s national parks and programs through the support of private citizens, park lovers, stewards of nature, history enthusiasts, and wilderness adventurers.”
The National Park Foundation grew out of a legacy of park protection that began over a century ago, when ordinary citizens took action to establish and protect our national parks. Today, the National Park Foundation carries on the tradition of early park advocates, big thinkers, doers, and dreamers.
– National Park Foundation
You can support and donate to the National Park Foundation here.
National Parks Conservation Association
The largest independent, non-governmental national parks organization, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has over 1.6 million members across the entire United States.
They are “the voice of America’s national parks”, preserving and protecting the most iconic and inspirational places in the country.
In addition to collecting funds to help manage the national parks, the nonprofit NPCA is also dedicated to defending the parks, whether it’s “on the ground, in the courtroom or in Congress.”
They’re one of the main organizations that speak up for the parks in court, about things like environmental issues, pollution, wildlife management and so on.
More than a century ago, visionaries with a passion for America’s national parks saw the need for a strong, independent voice speaking out on their behalf. With the strength of more than 1.6 million members and supporters, the National Parks Conservation Association is that voice — and on May 19, 2019 we celebrated 100 years of working to protect places of unparalleled natural wonder, historical significance and cultural value.
– National Parks Conservation Association
You can become a member of and donate to the National Parks Conservation Association here.
The National Parks Experience’s founders are members of both the National Park Foundation and the National Parks Conservation Association. We encourage you to support one or both organizations as well.
3. Become a Citizen Scientist
Are you obsessed with the national parks? Do you love science? If you answered ‘yes’ to both questions, you might consider becoming a citizen scientist in the national parks.
Although this is a form of volunteering in the parks, it’s a bit different from the volunteering positions we talked about above. This focuses only on scientific research, rather than visitor services, maintenance or other general work that needs to be done in the national parks.
As the National Park Service puts it, “citizen science is the voluntary involvement of the public in scientific research.”
As a citizen scientist, you can help create scientific experiments, gather data, analyze findings and contribute to problem-solving.
These projects can be varied as taking/analyzing water samples from lakes and counting wildflowers. Each contribution from a citizen scientist is a huge help to resource managers and professional scientists in a specific park.
You can become a citizen scientist in a national park no matter what your background, age and talents are. The only things you need are curiosity, spare time and a sense of wonder, according to the National Park Service.
The NPS supports citizen science projects for two main reasons:
- Good management of parks by using the best available scientific information, which may be easiest to collect thanks to hundreds or thousands of contributing visitors; and
- Good experiences for visitors by offering them the opportunity to immerse themselves in a national park, learn more about it, and appreciate it in a new way.
Citizen science projects in the national parks include everything from Culture and Heritage Project to Environmental Change Projects and Biodiversity Projects.
Additionally, there are Citizen Science Events in national parks all around the country, too.
Learn more about becoming a citizen scientist in the national parks on the NPS Citizen Science page.
